When he did speak, he had to clear his throat. He spoke with a voice that was thick with emotion. “For loving me. For taking a chance on me. I swear, Lace, I won’t let you down.”
Lacey and Zoe went to the game together on Halloween. Lacey loved going to that game. They both dressed in costumes, as a lot of fans did. Even though it was an old joke, Lacey liked the people who dressed as blind referees. The Scorpions ran a contest for the best costume before the game, awarding a prize to one adult and one child.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this, Zoe. Why is it that you always get your way with me?” Lacey looked at her reflection and frowned. The costume that Zoe had picked out for her was basically a pink corset with some feathers hanging down from the bottom to form a two-inch skirt. It also had wings and a halo to go with it. She felt naked. Oh, maybe she’d feel more covered up with the wings and halo on. Sure thing. “Look at how much my boobs squeeze out of this thing. If I have a nip-slip, I’m going to strangle you.”
Zoe playfully poked the ample spillover and shrugged her shoulders. “Hey, you said you wanted to be an angel. Well, you’re an angel.”
“I wanted to be an angelic angel, not an angel from Angels Gone Wild! When Jody calls me Angel, it’s sweet, not dirty.”
“Tough titties. Sweet angels are boring. Fallen angels are sexy. With your slutty fallen angel costume and my barely there belly dancer outfit, we’ll stop traffic, baby!”
“And again I ask why do I let you talk me into these things?”
Zoe turned to Lacey with her hands on her hips. “Because you know that I know best. And deep down, you’re a vixen, just aching to bust free. Haha … bust.”
Zoe’s costume was just as sexy. She was a belly dancer, dressed in red. She had on wispy, see thru ‘pants’ that were slit up the sides and rode low on her hips. They were held together at the waist and the ankle with delicate gold chains. The top portion of the costume consisted of a miniscule bra, and she wore a headpiece that had more gold chains dangling down to frame her face. She even wore a fake belly button ring. At least Lacey thought it was fake.
“Well, I’ll tell you one thing. We’re lucky we get to sit in the suite again. It would be damn cold if in these outfits if we were too close to the ice.” As it was, Lacey was taking a blanket to put over her legs and a white satin shawl to drape over her shoulders.
There was a big group from the organization going to the game. Some were office workers and some were wives and girlfriends of the players. They were meeting early to mingle – it was kind of an impromptu Halloween party. Jody was picking them up, but then he would go straight to the locker room when they got to the arena. The guys played some soccer and wall ball before the games to warm up and get themselves in game mode.
Jody pulled up to the house right on time. They were halfway down the stairs when Zoe noticed two things: first, Jody was out of the truck storming toward them, looking like he was going to blow a gasket; and second, Vlad was sitting in the back seat. Crap. Zoe didn’t feel like dealing with him.
Jody was talking to himself as he walked over to Lacey. Okay, okay, breathing in, breathing out. One, two, et cetera, et cetera. Is she fucking kidding me with that costume? I’ve seen more clothes on pole dancers. Jody tried to tell himself that she could damn well dress anyway she wanted and that he knew she loved him and blah, blah, blah.
“Seriously Lace? Is this a test for me? Because I don’t think I can pass this one.” She couldn’t possibly be thinking of going to the game in that strip of cloth.
“Yeah, it’s a little skimpy, isn’t it? You don’t like it?” Lacey did her best to look innocent with her breasts spilling out of her corset.
Jody walked over to her and tried stuffing her breasts down into the bodice. Lacey lost it. She busted out laughing. Oh his face! It was classic. He had a look of such determination while trying to stuff them down.
“Jody, what are you doing? They’re not going to stay in there – trust me, I tried.” He continued stuffing, and Lacey continued laughing until she had tears rolling down her face. “Stop – oh god, Jody, stop.” She just couldn’t stop laughing.
“Lace, stop laughing. You’re making them jiggle. Help me get them in there.”
That set Lacey, and now Zoe, into fresh peals of laughter. Lacey batted his hands away. “Jody you’re killing me. Oh God, my stomach hurts, I can’t laugh anymore.”
“Fine, but don’t blame me if I lose my cool when you’re getting ogled, got it?” He knew he had control issues, but really, that outfit was just too much; however, he was going to roll with it like a good boy. And he was going to ask her to wear it again – in bed – with garters – and four-inch heels. Oh hell yeah.
Lacey reached up and pulled him down for a quick kiss. “Thank you. I know it’s hard for you, but remember, I go home with you. I have no interest in anyone else, okay?” Jody grumbled his acquiescence and walked her to the truck.
When they got to the truck, Vlad leaned over and opened the door for Zoe. Zoe wasn’t dating Sebastian anymore, which made Vlad happy, which in turn pissed Zoe off. “Why are you here? Your car break down again?” Honestly, Zoe would never understand why someone who made as much money as Vlad did would still drive an old ’69 Camaro. Yes it looked nice, but it was in the shop more often than not.
“No. I just wanted to see you.” Vlad wasn’t giving up on the feisty Zoe. The meaner she was to him, the more he wanted her. He understood the rules; he just didn’t care about them. Maybe he was being selfish, but he couldn’t help it. She’d been under his skin for years. Well, almost. One year, eleven months and three days to be exact.
Zoe rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Christ, Vlad, let it go. You know the deal. Can’t happen. Accept it.”
“Nope. I’ll wear you down.” Vlad gave her a killer smile and then started a conversation with Jody, as casual as ever.
The suite was halfway filled by the time Lacey and Zoe got in there. Lacey was glad for the chance to get to know the other girls. Some of them she had already met at the skating party, but there were quite a few new faces. Mostly, though, she hung out with Zoe.
“Do you believe Vlad told me that he wouldn’t leave me alone? Oh my God, Lace, what am I going to do about him?” Zoe was equally pissed and happy. What an impossible situation. She had seriously tried to feel something for Sebastian, but it just wasn’t there. She had even come close to sleeping with him, but after some heavy petting, she confessed to him that she wasn’t feeling it. Seb was a total gentleman and took her home. He admitted that, even though he liked her, he wasn’t feeling a real connection either.
“Zoe, I don’t have an answer for you. I wish I did, sweetie, I truly do. It’s a shitty situation. I know you have strong feelings for him. Is there any possibility you could talk to management?”
“I’m afraid to. Lace, I love my job. I can’t lose it, even if it means giving up a chance with Vlad.”
“Okay. Well it seems like you’ve made your decision, so, as my therapist would tell me, ‘suck it up, Buttercup.’” Lacey gave her a sympathetic smile. “I honestly don’t know; I guess you just have to live with it, or be willing to find another job.” Lacey felt bad telling Zoe to forget about him when she was so happy with Jody.
Zoe sighed like the weight of the world was on her shoulders. “I know you’re right, it just sucks. I’m so drawn to him, but I get totally pissed off that he won’t back off.” Zoe laughed, “It’s kind of crazy, right? He’s very sweet most of the time. I wish he was an asshole.”
“Well, I don’t think you should stop dating, that’s for sure. Seb was nice, but didn’t do it for you. Find someone else to date, and try it again.”
Jody was looking forward to this game. Philadelphia was a tough team and one he had always respected. He knew he’d be in the lineup, since they were known for their physical play. Slightly concerned about their enforcer, he’d gone to a boxing gym a couple of times the week before the game to brush up on his pu
gilist skills. He wanted to take Brash down if he had the opportunity, but Brash was, hands down, the biggest, toughest enforcer in the league. If Jody was being honest, he hoped he wouldn’t have to drop gloves with him, but if he did, he wanted a decent showing at the very least.
By the end of the first, the Scorpions were up three to one. Vlad was a stud in the net, and the boys were shooting like crazy. The players were all on the same page, and Jody hoped it stayed that way for the next two periods.
Back in the locker room for intermission, Keith was making the rounds, talking to teammates. “Hey Chief. You might get lucky if Philly keeps quiet for the rest of the game. You won’t have to take on that behemoth.” Keith knew, without a doubt, that Jody would do whatever was asked of him, but damn – no one wanted to go up against Brash.
“True enough, but if we keep scoring, they’re going to go after someone just to shake things up. Most likely you.” Keith had scored two of the three goals. Having that C on his jersey could make him a target. Some players would leave the captain alone for the most part, but the C wouldn’t protect Keith from any Philly players.
Marcoux had scored the other goal. It was a typical Brandon goal that Philly’s goalie should have seen coming a mile away. He skated behind the net, came out the other side, and did his trademark wrap around to stuff the puck over the goal line right between the net post and Brody’s pad.
“Hey guys! Who’s ready to go score some more goals? Did you hear the chicks out there calling my name? Damn, they love me. I’m getting some tonight, boys!” Not expecting any answers to his questions, Brandon squirted himself down with a water bottle. “Working up a sweat though!”
Vlad sauntered up to Jody. “Well, you can’t say the kid’s not enthusiastic. Annoying, but enthusiastic.”
Keith clapped his hands together to get everyone’s attention. “Okay guys, it’s almost time to go out and start the second. We did great in the first, but don’t think for one minute that the second period is going to be a walk in the park. Philly’s gonna come out balls to the wall. They’re not going to let us get away with having a two-goal lead, so be prepared to fight to keep that lead. Keep your checks clean, and for Christ’s sake, watch your turnovers in the neutral zone. Got it?” There was a chorus of ‘yes captain,’ and they filed out of the locker room.
Keith was right about the second period. Philly did indeed come out balls to the wall. In the first thirty seconds, their captain scored on a turnover. Coach DeLeon went ballistic, and called a timeout. “What the fuck was that Marcoux? I specifically heard Lambert tell you guys to watch your fucking turnovers. You can’t sit back on your heels with a team like Philly. Now get out there and show me a better effort. Go!”
Marcoux didn’t like getting called out and was pissed that O’Dell, Philly’s captain, scored on a turnover made by him. On his next shift, when O’Dell got the puck, he took a run at him and got called for boarding. “That’s horseshit! He turned his back at the last minute just to get the call. That fucker knew I was coming!” The ref ignored Marcoux’s outburst and patiently pushed him toward the penalty box. He was lucky he was only getting a two-minute minor.
When the coach saw that Brash was out on the same shift as the Scorpions captain, he quickly pulled off the left-winger and put Jody in. “Go protect your captain. Brash is out there for a reason.”
Here we go, Jody thought as he swung his legs over the boards and took his spot at the red line next to Brash. Brash sneered at him and said, “Get ready to go down, LaGrange.”
When Lacey saw that Jody was on the top line (he was usually on the fourth line, or third if someone got hurt, and he needed to fill in), she looked at Zoe with concern. “Well, shit, I guess that sends a message. I’m not sure that I want to watch this one.”
Against her better judgment, Lacey couldn’t take her eyes off of Jody, even when the Scorpions stole the puck in the defensive zone, making a run down the ice. When they were nearing the red line, all hell broke loose. Brash made a clean, albeit overly hard, hit on Keith who went flying ass over teakettle, coming down hard on the ice.
Lacey watched as Jody skated over to Brash. They both dropped their gloves and took off their helmets. Luckily, Jody got a solid grip on Brash’s jersey, but Brash had about four inches on Jody, not to mention thirty pounds. He was a big fucker.
Jody got in a couple of solid hits, but took more than he gave. As he was struggling to fling his elbow pad off, Brash came around with a haymaker that threw him off balance, and he went down hard, bashing his head on the half wall at the team bench. The last thing he remembered was thinking fuck, this is going to hurt.
Lacey gripped Zoe’s arm. Jody was just lying there, not moving. “Oh God, get up, baby.” She had chills all over that had nothing to do with her lack of clothing. It had been a good thirty seconds and still no movement. The trainers from both teams ran out onto the ice to look him over.
Bill, the Scorpions trainer, wasn’t getting any response from Jody, and Lacey saw him shake his head. He motioned for the stretcher to come out. Lacey had never felt such fear. Her whole body had tightened up, and she couldn’t move. “Oh my God, Zoe. They almost never bring a stretcher out. How do I get to him? I have to go.” Please wake up, Jody. Oh God, please just move an arm … a leg – something.
Zoe grabbed their stuff and took Lacey’s arm. “Come on, we’ll go down to the locker room. They’ll take him there first to determine if they want to take him to the hospital.”
Jody woke up with one hell of a killer headache and something heavy on his chest. He felt around and slowly opened his eyes. The something on his chest was Lacey. What the hell? Where am I? What the fuck happened? As he lay there and let his head clear, he remembered going down, hitting his head on the boards.
Lacey was crying. “Lace? Angel, what’s wrong?”
She snapped her head up from where it had been resting on his chest and looked up at him. “Oh thank God, you’re awake.” Never had she been so thankful for anything in her life. He’d been out for almost an hour. She’d only left his side for the time it took for the hospital staff to run tests. The only reason they allowed her to stay with him was because she told the staff that she was his fiancé.
Jody looked around at the sterile environment. “I’m in the hospital? I hate hospitals, let’s go.” He tried sitting up, but he got instantaneously nauseous and laid back down. “Oh, hell.”
“They did a CT scan while you were out, and we’re waiting for the results, but you most definitely have a concussion and a few new stitches.” Gently running her fingers over his brow, she asked him, “How’s your vision?”
Jody looked around and didn’t see anything different. “It seems okay. I’m dizzy and nauseous with a bitch of a headache, but my vision seems clear.” That was huge. Concussions can wreak havoc on eyesight, and sometimes the results are permanent.
“I’m going to go out and tell the doctor you’re awake. I’ll let Vlad and the guys know, too.” Vlad had called Zoe the second the game was over. All the guys were worried about him.
“Okay, but you’ll come back, right? I hate being in here.” At Lacey’s nod, Jody squeezed her hand and let her go.
Jody was able to go home, but was given strict instructions. He was not to be alone for the night, and he was made to give his word that he would call the doctor if he started vomiting or had any change in his vision. Lacey promised to watch him like a hawk.
Zoe drove them to Jody’s, and when they got there, he saw that his truck was in the driveway. “How’d that get here?”
“Vlad dropped it off for you. You should give him a call; he was pretty freaked out, and you left before he could get to the hospital. I texted him, and he said he’d just drop your truck off and let you rest.” Zoe had talked to Vlad during the second intermission before Jody woke up. When she had told him that Jody still hadn’t woken up, it sounded like Vlad let out a sob. But then he cleared his throat and told her that he’d be at the hospital as
soon as he could get there.
“Okay, I’ll give him a ring.” Once Zoe left, Lacey got Jody settled in an oversized chair in front of the gas fireplace. It was just cool enough outside to put the fire on low. As she fussed over him, getting him a pillow for his head and taking his shoes off, he grabbed her arm. “Come on, Lace, I’m fine. Come sit with me. I want to hold you.”
“Are you sure? Nothing hurts?”
Reaching down to his pants, he looked at her with a mischievous grin. “Well, now that you mention it, I have this stiffness here that won’t seem to go away. Can you help me with that, please?”
Lacey was still in her next to nothing Halloween costume, and Jody’s eyes were riveted to her breasts. She had draped her shawl around her, and the nurse had given her a pair of scrub bottoms, but she still took Jody’s breath away. The fallen angel look worked for her better than any outfit he could have come up with. Jesus, the way her breasts spill out of that thing. It’s like they’re daring me to free them once and for all.
“Absolutely not. Take your hand out of your pants for God’s sake. Behave. You’re resting tonight.” Lacey couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips, or the reaction she felt deep inside at seeing him grab himself. She must have licked her lips because Jody let out a groan.
“Aw, come on. I’ve had a shit night, make it better.” This was yet another side of Jody. She’d call this one ‘whining Jody.’
“No, and that’s final. Come on, let’s go get you into some pajama bottoms or something, and we’ll relax out here.” She grabbed his hand, helping him up.
Jody wanted to pretend to go along with her and then ravish her in the bedroom, but as soon as he stood up, he got a fresh wave of dizziness. Maybe he should take it easy for the night. Fucking Brash. Asshole.
“Yeah, okay. Maybe I don’t feel so hot.”
The Enforcer (NHL Scorpions) Page 22